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Thorpe park is a great day out for everyone. It costs £35 for an adult for the day and there are discounted prices for concessions and children. Inside the gates there a lots of different rides to choose from. One of the park's strengths is the way it caters for children with less scary rides and also for the thrill seeker with rides like Stealth ( a vertical drop down from 205 feet high going from 0 to 80 miles an hour in under 2 seconds!). There are many other exciting rides for the adults including Colossus which has 10 vertical loops, Saw which has a beyond vertical 1 hundred foot drop and Tidal wave my personal favourite which is a straight but very fast drop down into a huge pool of water that soaks you from head to toe.Thorpe Park is very clean and well maintained. It has rubbish bins and friendly staff throughout the complex to help with any queries you may have. It also has lots of places to eat when you need a break from the rides. Queing for rides can be tiresome particularly at weekends and in the school holidays but you can buy a fast pass that enables you to queue jump for a small fee.Happy riding!

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The Netherlands is a small nation in Western Europe made up of 12 provinces, including North and South Holland. The Netherlands is commonly but incorrectly called Holland though it has become so popular that the dispute over its name is longer offensive. Allow me to expand on some key areas of dutch life:

1)Geography: The Netherlands is bordered by Germany to the East and Belgium to the South. The Belgian/Dutch border is located around an hour and forty minutes drive from Calais and the channel tunnel. The historic capital Amsterdam is easily accessible via ferry from England and ferries land at Velsen, roughly a half hour car journey from Amsterdam. The Netherlands is famously low lying and suffers from the threat of flooding. Its main river is the Rhine.

2)People: Having lived in the Netherlands as a child, I can say that the Dutch people are a welcoming and generally friendly nation. Most Dutch people are seemingly serious however the Dutch humour relies heavily around slap stick homour rather than the perhaps more British use of irony and sarcasm. The level of crime is very low in the Netherlands. Similar to Great Britain the Netherlands also has a constitutional monarchy. The Dutch people are also amongst the tallest nations in the world with an average height of 6 foot one inch for men!

3)Transport: The Dutch have two particularly famous and unique modes of transport, the tram and many miles of dedicated cycle paths.

4)Economy: The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy and uses the Euro as its currency. It has the 16th largest economy in the world. Food processing, petroleum refining and electronic supplies make up its main industry output, whilst financial services also bring in large revenue.

I hope you enjoyed the short taste of Holland! I'm new to Dooyoo, thank you for all your support:)

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There are over one hundred sports direct stores throughout the country. The shops are large and have different sections dedicated to providing equipment for a chosen sport. As well as providing sports equipment it also sells replica shirts for football teams and supporter merchandise as well as clothes from top sporting brands. One of the best things about the store is that it sells quality sports goods at very low prices. Another positive is that it sells a wide variety of sport's equipment meaning that you can find the ideal tennis racket or golf putter for you. It also provides a lot of sporting goods for children as well as adults and both products for male and female buyers. I particularly recommend this store for anyone who plays a sport part time or is just starting out as it does not have enough choice to provide equipment for a high level sportsman but is a great way of finding cheap and reliable sporting gear. Its great strength as a store is that it sells both sports equipment and also casual sporty clothes therefore covering those who both want to play sport and those who want to appear to play sport!

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If you want a good up to date site for all the world's sporting news then this is the best. It covers all the major world sports and the home page continually changes to provide the main headlines. It also provides coverage of match of the day, six nations rugby and tennis games as well as many others. I find it particularly useful for all the football results as the live scores page refreshes every two minutes and is therefore right up to date with every goal. It also provides typed commentary that comments on the highlights of each goal. The football site also provides detailed information about each league in the world and has numerous club squad profiles on each player. As you can tell I am a football fan but it also has a fair coverage of other sports, it particularly focuses on sporting events that are in the headlines, for example a tennies grand slam, a snooker final or a rugby cup game. Around transfer season in the football it provides all the transfer gossip from the newspapers. It's also a great way to keep an eye on the less popular overseas sports, such as good coverage of baseball basketball and american football. It includes highlight videos of sporting moments from the week and commentaries and blogs in the build up to sporting events. Quite simply it's the complete sporting website!

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This internet site is free online encyclopedia comprising of over fourteen million articles on numerous different subjects. It is the biggest general reference site on the internet and is useful for gaining a basic understanding of a topic. It has been criticised for inaccuracies and a lack of reliability and one of its main flaws is that it can be edited by anyone who has access to the site. This means that anyone can theoretically change a detail and it may not get noticed for a long time. However whilst wikipedia has these flaws, it is a very simple site to use. One types what one wants to look up in to the search bar at the side of site and it takes you to around one or two pages but often more of information about your search. As a student I am discouraged from looking up information on the site as it can prove insufficient for detailed research and there are a few wrong details. Therefore I would not encourage people to use the site other than for a quick understanding of an issue. However it is always worth cross referencing key facts with more reliable sources.

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This museum is located in the heart of Oxford city centre and is therefore very easy to get to by car or bus. It's an impressive looking Victorian building with artefacts on two floors and soon to have a third floor added to it. All of the items in the museum are collected from around the world from explorers and travellers. It contains a wonderful collection of strange looking stuffed animals and skeletons, including those of dinosaurs. It also boasts lots of fossils and preserved insects and butterflies. Some of its strangest items are a collection of monkey skulls from pacific islands. The museum is very child friendly and has children's fun packs where children have to find things around the museum and there is always lots going on around Easter and Christmas time for children to enjoy. Another positive aspect is that the museum is free and because of its central location is a great attraction to visit in Oxford rather than paying to visit colleges.

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This product is great for a number of reasons. Firstly it has the unique click smell which i think is the best fragrance in this range of deoderants. It's not too overpowering and whilst some deodorents can smell cheap and strong, this fragrance is light and classy. It works well alongside aftershaves because it doesn't over power them, unlike some deoderants. Secondly, unlike other product by the same company, this produt contains anti-perspirant. With body sprays the chances are that after long periods of exertion, the smell of sweat is no longer hidden and you are just left smelling bad. However with this product you are kept dry from sweat all day and smell nice at the same time. This also means you don't have to use too of the product as you would if you were trying to mask sweat smell. My only negative opinion on this product is that it shouldn't be worn at night. As with any anti-perspirant it is important to let skin breath and not clog up pores which leads to trapped dirt in the skin. Therefore it's important not to use too much of this product and to only apply during the day or for periods of particular exercise or stress.

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This film is a really clever psychological thriller. The title reveals the plot of the film as a butterfly effect is the theory that something small such as the flap of a butterfly's wings will eventually have an effect in the future such as the course of a hurricane being changed. The film stars Ashton Kutcher who gives a great performance as Evan, a young man who suffers from blackouts at points of high stress. These blackouts cause him to obviously forget what has happened when they occurred. Looking at his traumatic childhood he realises that by looking at gaps in his diary as a result of his blackouts missing out information, he is able to travel back to the point of the blackout and change what took place. However as the title suggests Evan's changing of the past always has a flaw no matter how he changes it. The film's plot is gripping enough and has a sense of 'what if' about it that gets the mind really thinking. Ashton Kutcher's portrayal is convincing, and the plot so deep that you always spot extra important details each time you watch the film. I had heard good things about this film and it did not disappoint!

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For me this is the king of not only Ben and Jerry's ice cream but ice cream at large. Sure it's a little expensive and it's probably very bad for you but it tastes incredible. Firstly everyone love chocolate and this brand contains not only chocolate ice cream but little chocolate fish that are hidden within the ice cream. Add layers of marshmallow to this and you have the wonder of phish food. As a side point, I have noticed that this flavour tends to melt much faster than others. However it's an ice cream for any occasion. A cooling summer treat or a pick you up after a hard day at work, this trumps all other ice cream! The tubs are large enough to last a while or be shared but as I have discovered, they can equally be polished off by the individual. The combination of the flavours marshmallow, vanilla and chocolate work perfectly. Try it!

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St Mary's is the largest of a group of Islands called the Isles of Scilly. They are located 25 miles south west of land's end and If you haven't been before you should really go! I've been holidaying in these islands all my life and they're a hidden gem. The sea is an incredible clean, blue colour and is host to the same amount of fish species as the Carribean making snorkelling and scuba diving incredible. The islands also have a number of well known ship wreckages that make scuba diving even more exciting. There's also several colonies of seals for a bit of bigger wildlife, plus the odd dolphin or basking shark. All of the Islands but St Mary's in particular boast incredible plant life and great walks. St Mary's can be walked around in 3 or 4 hours and you never lose sight of the sea. It is the most historically wealthy of the islands due to ship building during the victorian times and it has a lovely victorian church waiting to be discovered. The Island also has a castle from the civil war period and a garrison to go with it. There's some great bed and breakfasts or small hotels on the island and regular boat services to other islands. The islands airport is also located here. Perhaps the only negative is that St Mary's and the rest of the Isles of Scilly is beginning to out price itself. Many people want guarenteed sun for the price you have to pay to travel to the island and people are beginning to seek this elsewhere in Spain at a cheaper price. It's unfortunate because I believe it's worth the money but others may not agree.

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At this point in time the western hemisphere is struggling to compete with southern hemisphere rugby. HOWEVER regardless of this point, the western hemisphere's six nations tournament by far and away out trumps the tri nations played in the southern hemisphere. Let me tell you why! Firstly there are more teams. An obvious point but the more teams there are the more exciting the competition as more teams can win! Secondly you just never know who's going to win each year. Perhaps Italian rugby and Scottish rugby aren't potential winners but the remainding four always clash horns for the top spot adding to the excitement, particularly if you support one of these sides. Thirdly the western hemisphere boasts far and away the most passionate fans. As newish countries South Africa, New Zealand and Australia are not blessed with the long history between them that the six nations are blessed with. Scotland are still trying to take revenge on England for wars which took place 500 years ago! Throw in a pinch of French flair, Italian passion, Welsh voices and Irish egoism and you have a fine tournament. Crowds are always large and most games are shown on regular television. It's a great tournament to watch to get into the rugby scene and I can't wait for when it starts!

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This fairly small airport has a suprising number of positives to its name. Firstly it's got a good number of European bound flights from companies such as easyjet, flybe and british airways. Secondly it's a child friendly aiport for families as there a games zone and great views of the planes taking off. Alternatively couples or adults might enjoy the three airport lounges for a bit of peace and quiet or the suprising number of shops on offer. The only down side to these are that despite being duty free there are still very expensive! There are some good little places to eat or grab a cup of coffee before flying too. Thirdly it's location is good. Whilst not in the centre of Newcastle, there's a cheap metro line into the centre that must take all of 15 minutes. Plus there's ample parking for those with cars and lots of taxis and buses that will pick you up too. There's also good space to be dropped off or picked up. Finally they have computer monitors that tell you how long until your gate opens, which means you can plan your time around this!

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Though i've seen a fair amount on stage, this is the best production I have ever seen. It's an all sung story, not something I'm normally a fan of but the songs are memorable and moving and the storyline is easy to follow. Set in revolutionary France, a runaway convict called Jean Valjean escapes from his prison sentence and vows to live by the straight and narrow against the backdrop of social unrest. It doesn't sound particularly appealing but the story is so moving, tackling love, death, social upheaval and desperation, that it leaves you with a lump in your throat and a tear in your eye. The westend version has some incredible special effects and staging and without doubt the fight sequence of the people against the authorities during the revolution is the best slow motion sequence i've seen on stage. If you're looking for something to see at the westend then go and see this. It's a show that has it all, it's inspiring, classy and technologically impressive.

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Dragon's den is a television show where budding entrepreneurs pitch their money making ideas to five experienced and successful business people, the dragons. Each entrepreneur aims to walk away with money supplied to them by a dragon interested in investing in their idea. In return for investing, a dragon normally expects to receive a share in the entrepreneur's company. The idea is simple enough but the drama is compelling. Rarely do the dragons like or invest in an idea and there are some amazing moments where the dragons verbally attack entrepreneur's ideas. This makes great TV as you watch entrepreneurs crumble. However the best drama comes when more than one dragon likes and idea and a bidding war takes place. This usually results in some wiley business and some warring words between dragons. The show also promotes some great items that are successful in receiving investment, I have heard of bands, food products and gadgets from the dragon's den that I've now bought! It is a simple enough show to be followed even if you know nothing about business, but it's a useful show for getting you thinking about what makes business and entrepreneurial ideas work.

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Sky sports bring you arguably the best sporting action of any UK sports channel. It's dominated primarily by football matches, most of which are premiership games at the weekend and it always shows the biggest games of the season. On top of this it's the best place to get all of the European football action, for example the champions league and Euro cup. But I think one of the channel's great strengths is it's balance of different sports. As a rugby fan it's great to see the channel playing AT LEAST two games per weekend of either premiership or european rugby. Plus during the international period it shows all of England's games. It's also a great channel for watching cricket over the summer, both domestic, one day games and of course bigger test matches such as the previous Ashes. It doesn't stop here though and with a quick flick through the list of programmes you can quite happily pick out a summary of a range of sports. For example I enjoy the Sunday night 3 hour catch up of the American football games. But there's also major darts tournaments and a whole lot more! If you want sport this is the place to come.